Asiri Calls for Rapprochement to Elect a Made in Lebanon President
Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awad Asiri has denied that Riyadh's grant to the Lebanese army was targeted at Hizbullah and its allies, stressing that rapprochement between the rival parties would pave way for the election of a “made in Lebanon president.”
“Isn't the Lebanese army for all of Lebanon and the Lebanese?” he asked in an interview published on Monday.
“Saudi Arabia stands by the Lebanese state and all its institutions, and the army is one of them,” he told An Nahar newspaper.
The 3-billion-dollar grant to the military, which was announced in December, comes as part of all the parties' agreement to preserve the army's role as the protector of the nation, the diplomat said.
Asiri stressed that his return to Lebanon was linked to the security successes made by the army and security forces.
“The Lebanese authorities are serious in implementing the plan,” he said about the security measures taken by the military and police mainly in the northern city of Tripoli and the eastern Bekaa Valley.
Asiri arrived in Beirut with his family earlier this month to resume his diplomatic duties. But he denied that his return is linked to the presidential deadlock.
He encouraged the Lebanese to agree on their candidate. “Friendly countries and the Kingdom would bless what they agree on.”
Asiri said all the parties are keen on holding the elections on time but stressed the need for “a consensual president capable of uniting the Lebanese.”
He hoped that all sides “would encourage the rapprochement and the consolidation of unity.”
“It is only then that the slogan of a made in Lebanon president would become a reality,” he said.
Parliament is scheduled to hold the fifth round of the presidential polls on Thursday. Lawmakers failed in the previous rounds to elect a head of state over differences between the March 8 and 14 alliances.
Most of the March 8 MPs have been boycotting the parliamentary sessions to protest the candidacy of the March 14 coalition's candidate Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea.
They have also stressed that there should be prior agreement on a consensual president.
President Michel Suleiman's six-year term ends on Sunday.
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